Suzuki DR 400 ST 1980 Twinshock Race / Road bike

For Sale is my Suzuki DR 400.

I have owned this bike for 3 years and in that time it has been striped and totally rebuilt.

Here?ˆ™s a list of some of the work that has been carried out:

1.      Frame shot blasted and powder coated blue

2.      Swing arm shot blasted and powder coated silver

3.      Handlebars. rear brake lever shot blasted and powder coated

4.      Engine rebuilt including rebore. new piston and rings and final drive bearing. All other bearing checked for wear and play.

5.      Cylinder head refurbished with the valves. seals and gaskets done

6.      New brake pads front and rear

7.      New timing chain

8.      All panels & tank re-sprayed yellow and new decals applied

9.      Fuel Tank lined with POR 15 no leaks but a precautionary measure.

10.   All new cables including throttle. clutch. speedo. rear brake. rev counter

11.   Oil and filters including air filter

12.   New grips

13.   Wheel bearings front and rear

14.   New 520 gold chain and sprockets

15.   New front exhaust

16. Genuine NOS Suzuki parts used where ever possible.

The list goes on basically anything that was worn or missing was replaced as part of the re-build. Initially I built it as a show bike (see first pictures) but then it just sat in the garage not been used and I thought that is was a waste so I converted it to a scrambler to use in the local Twinshock club meets as it is the correct age and twinshock. It starts stops and runs exactly how it should. The clutch and gearbox are fine and were checked during the rebuild to ensure everything was within tolerances.

It soon became apparent that in it?ˆ™s standard form the suspension was not up to the job. The front forks were replaced with 1979 RM 250 forks which provide the correct amount of travel and I had some rear shocks built for me by Falcon Shocks at a cost of approx ??300. This totally transformed the bike and suddenly it was a contender. It?ˆ™s never going to keep up with a Maico 490 but handles well and the DR 400 motor is surprisingly tough and powerful with the rebuild.

As part of the sale I am going to include all the lights. speedo. indicators. standard forks and everything else to put the bike back to it?ˆ™s standard road format as part of the auction. Please see pictures to see the bike in standard UK DR 400 spec. I wanted to be able to flip the bike from scrambler to road legal bike very easily so the way it is set up at the moment you can just put on the front headlight DR 400 US Enduro version (headlight bracket mounted behind raceboard) and rear brake lights and off you go. I reckon it takes approximately half an hour to switch between the two variants. To put it back to the standard form would take a bit more time as you would need to switch the forks but personally unless you wanted a standard bike for showing I would not bother as the standard DR 400 forks are not that great.

I have spend a great deal of time setting this bike up so that it runs and handles well. It?ˆ™s starts easily and is only really just run in. You do need a strong right leg though even with the decompression lever. As with any big enduro single cylinder kickstart bikes it takes a while to master the starting technique but once you?ˆ™ve got it it?ˆ™s easy and starts first time.

The bike is road registered and the V5 is in my name it is taxed but with the new rules I have to take this off. Cheap to tax though I think it was about ??35 per year.

The bike is a 1980 Suzuki DR 400 and was originally an import and never registered so was registered with DVLA earlier year on age related plates with the help of the Suzuki Owners Club.

The next stages of development I had planned were to reduce the weight by:

1.      Changing the steel swingarm to a RM alloy twinshock swingarm.

2.      Change the rear endure tailpipe to a supertrap exhaust or similar

3.      Remove any excess weight to increase performace.

I don?ˆ™t want to sell it but with other projects increasing taking up more of my time and money I have to let this one go.

Please don?ˆ™t go offering me silly amounts for this bike I have invested a great deal of time and money into getting it right and not going to let it go for nothing.

I?ˆ™m not in a rush to sell it and would rather it went to an enthusiast who is either going to show it or race it.

If it does not sell I will keep it and race it next year. This bike is ready to use on the road by putting the lights back on or is race ready in it's current form.  

Cash on collection please and buyer can ride away if necessary but I'll have to put the lights back on.

I think that?ˆ™s about it I?ˆ™m sure I?ˆ™ll think of more but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me.

I have lots of other DR 400 parts which will be listed on separate auctions.

Also published at eBay.com